Nastasja Schunk has received the first wildcard for this year’s Hamburg European Open tennis tournament.
The 18-year-old young German from Ludwigshafen had attracted attention a few days ago when she qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon. There, however, the left-hander was defeated by the experienced Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu 4:6, 2:6.
“At 18 years old, she is one of our greatest talents,” said women’s tennis coach Barbara Rittner. Last year, the world number 154 reached the final at the Wimbledon junior women’s tournament. In Hamburg, Schunk is the third German player in the main draw. Andrea Petkovic (WTA 57/Darmstadt) and Jule Niemeier (WTA 97/Dortmund) had qualified. Tournament director Sandra Reichel reserves the right to award wildcards to other German talents.